The Broken Four
by Falki
Summary: A Rise of the Brave Tangled Dragons story. Avatar AU.
1. Accidents Can Happen

Avatar AU

'_Tch. The Avatar?' Snotlout sneered. 'The Avatar doesn't_ actually _exist. That's just a story 'mommies and daddies' tell their kids to help them sleep at night.'_

They were ten—actually—maybe younger than that...Hiccup couldn't remember.

_Hiccup looked upon his littler-self like it were totally normal to have such an out-of-body-experience. It was one of those surreal instants where one explores moments of their childhood past, both as that younger-self and as an outsider looking in. Little-Hiccup had been hunting for trolls. Icy slush soaked the boy twice over and it was slightly amazing that he didn't have frostbite. He had theorized that winter permitted trolls to be more active since there was less sun to turn them to stone. So, naturally, Hiccup thought he had a better chance of capturing one and demanding for his left socks back, for he really was running rather quite low on them._

_Having spent all day searching in the forest, Little-Hiccup discovered a cove that he thought looked like the perfect habitat if _he _were a troll. Sheltered by cliffs on all sides with a single difficult-to-shuffle-down trail leading into the cove, there were trees and boulders that could provide shelter, and there even was a large pond which could supply food and water. Though, at this time and moment of the year, the pond was frozen solid. _

Hiccup figured that few Berkians had ever traveled this deep into the forest, for he had never heard word of this place before…or since for that matter.Did anyone know it was here?

Hiccup watched the story of Little-Hiccup unfold before his eyes, as if he were watching the scene happen to an old friend and not himself; as if he didn't already know exactly how the rest of the story went.

_After much slipping and falling and thoroughly covering his body in cuts, scrapes, and bruises, Little-Hiccup was finally able to get himself down to the cove. It was surprisingly bigger than it looked from the top of the pathway. Quiet, isolated, unique. It was kind of nice there. _

_That is, until he went to adjust his helmet and noticed a dragon staring right at him. Hiccup's point of view shifted. Hiccup was now living it out as Little-Hiccup, seeing it through his younger-self's eyes. And as dreams tend to do, he completely forgot that this was, in fact, a harmless little dream; an accurate replay of his memories, but a dream none the less._

_Most dragons usually hibernated during this time of year, but the hungry gleam in the Flashfang's eye told Hiccup exactly why it had decided to wake up. About the same size and temperament as a starved wolf, it was clearly preparing to pounce on the available human prey. _

_Hiccup assessed the situation. He wouldn't make it up to the trail in time to get away, the dragon would have a much better grip on the snow-covered boulders than a clawless Hiccup would. It'd be upon him before he could even say 'Mjolnir'. His only chance was to run across the frozen pond and hope to HEL it would hold his weight long enough to get to the other side, but also hoping the ice would break under the dragon's heft, while not simultaneously dragging Hiccup down with it. That is…assuming the dragon didn't find another way across, you know, like flying. But it was the only plan Hiccup had._

_He make a run for it. The ice cracked and groaned and spiderwebed around him…but held. His heart was pounding so hard, he thought it might explode then and there, before he even made it half way out on the lake._

_Hiccup slipped, his left side meeting hard with the icy surface. He shuttered a yelp and looked back at the dragon that had followed him onto the ice. Well, that much had gone right, but it was looking more like a backfire than anything else. _

_He couldn't stop the hyperventilating as he saw that the ice was holding the dragon as well. Oh gods, it didn't work! And now he was severely worried that the creaking ice couldn't support Hiccup's weight after all; he could feel its instability under him, felt the frigid waters leaking over, noted the sinking feeling of the weakening ice. He was frozen in fear. Either he was going to die by fire and fangs, or he would fall into the bone numbingly cold waters and drown. Maybe even both. Great. This was the most disastrous idea Hiccup had had yet. _

_The dragon was bounding up on him. It was only a few yards off and getting closer. Ooooh, Hiccup couldn't look. He turned his head away from the thing, not quite able to look death in the eye…when all of a sudden…_

_The ice broke beneath the dragon. It screamed before being plunged underneath the waters, letting out a single plume of flame to the skies. All was deafeningly quiet. Hiccup looked up, slowly. The waters quaked, visible through the hole in the ice, but nothing came up. Slowly Hiccup came to the realization that the ice around him was no longer about to give out. He slowly turned to look at the ice, all the cracks around him were gone, the ice had somehow restored itself, possibly even become stronger than before. This was almost as concerning as ice on the verge of breaking. _

_Hiccup blinked. Could his eyes be playing tricks on him? He turned his body so he was on all fours, looking into the ice. No…it-it was real alright. It was an experience that would spook Hiccup for the rest of his days and even years later he had no idea what force held back his scream. _

_He was looking at the comatose face of a boy—a teenager—who must have fallen in and frozen to death. No…wait…There was a vibrance to the teenager that told he wasn't dead…yet. _

_Hiccup blinked a couple of times, sobering to his find. He didn't know why, but he felt sort of…connected to the boy. No. Not the boy. To Jack. His name was Jack. Though Hiccup didn't know how or why he knew that. Trying to remember how to breathe, he decided it'd be best to keep the knowledge of Jack's name to himself for the time being. _

_It felt as if Hiccup had sort of a duty to the boy. To help him. It was weird. He tried to paw at the ice, hit it even, but had nothing he could dig well enough with. The ice was definitely too strong now. If he were a fire bender, then it'd be no problem. Unfortunately, this was not the case. Hiccup was the only person on Berk who couldn't Firebend._

_He would have to come back with help._

_Hiccup ran back to the village as quickly as his legs would carry him. He told his father and anybody else he could get the attention of but nobody would listen; his father being particularly annoyed that Hiccup was hunting for trolls yet _**again.**_ And now he was telling strange stories about boys stuck in ice. _

'_Even if there is a boy in a lake,' Hiccups father lectured to him, 'he is long gone. He's not worth risking the lives of our living people. Besides, nobody has reported anyone from the tribe as missing. So whoever this boy is, he is not one of ours. He is an outsider. A possible enemy, a spy or some'in', and it's probably best to leave him there.'_

'_But dad, I _know_ he's still alive! I saw it. And even if he was once our enemy, well, maybe he'd change his mind for the people who saved his life. We have to give him a chance! We should help him, dad.' Hiccup pleaded, following Stoick as they walked out of their house and towards the weapons forge._

_If Stoick had actually heard Hiccup, he sure didn't act like it. 'Hiccup, you've got other things you should be doing with your time than hunting for trolls. Get into fighting—like the other kids.' He said with his best attempt to be encouraging and plopped a sword into Hiccup's arms. 'You'll never become a bender if you don't try.' He added with a smile. Stoick was hopeful that his son was simply a late bloomer._

'You're not listening! You never do!' Hiccup wanted to say, though he didn't know if it was his current self, or his younger, dream-self that wanted to say it.

_Hiccup was still determined to rescue the boy anyways. He found his friends—well, he found the other kids his age—and tried to reach out to them. _

That was where he was before, and that was where he was now, in that same impossible dreamscape-timeline where things ran together as one and don't have to be chronological still be the same moment.

'_Tch. The Avatar?' Snotlout sneered. 'The Avatar doesn't_ actually _exist. That's just a story 'mommies and daddies' tell their kids to help them sleep at night. Only a weakling would actually believe in him.' he said, crossing his arms._

'_Her.' Astrid corrected._

'_Whatever.' Snotlout rolled his eyes, not accepting the Avatar could be a girl._

_Hiccup had approached the kids just as they were debating the existence of the fabled hero._

'_Oh yeah?' Tuffnut said, 'And what about the Guardians? They were real!'_

'_R-really?' Fishlegs gasped looking up from his Firebending flashcards. Ugh, even Fishlegs could Firebend…even if he did need the flashcards if he was going to have any hope at being at least decent one day._

'_Ha! No they weren't!' Snotlout said condescendingly._

'_Yes they were!' Tuff spat back_

'_Um, hey, guys—' Hiccup said but was ignored through their bickering._

'_Nuh-uh.' Snotlout said arrogantly._

'_Yuh-huh!' Tuffnut squared up to him defensively._

'_Guys?' Hiccup tried again. _

'_Then how come no one's seen them before? It's not like they're like the Avatar or anything.' Snotlout continued on without even noticing Hiccup._

'_Uh, the Guardians were a secret society. Duh.' Ruffnut said, 'They're probably just, you know, being secret again.' _

_Snotlout waved-off her point. 'They were just a club of geezer fanboys. There was no point to ever going into hiding. Face it, they didn't exist.' _

'_If they weren't real, how come they've been to Berk?' Tuffnut said defiantly._

'_Uh, they never have.' Snotlout said highly matter-of-factly._

'_They so did!'_

'_Oh?' Snotlout said knowingly. 'Then. Prove. It.' _

'_Oh, you want proof? I'll show you proof!' Tuffnut feeling his pockets and looked around, working his not-so-powerful brain. 'Uh…uhh…hold on, don't rush me…neuuuh…oh, uh, Sis! Show them the thing we found.'_

'_What!? I thought you had it!' Ruffnut said._

'_I thought you had it!' Tuffnut replied._

'_Please, you practically wouldn't let go of it! What? Now you lost it!?'_

'_I didn't lose it, you lost it!'_

_Hiccup would later learn that they had found an old, moldy tapestry that showed a gathering on Berk with the guardians. Bind runes at the corner of the work gave a signature of a very well-known maker. The tapestry was made by a Viking that was known for being a stickler for portraying scenes as accurately as possible. He never once made a tapestry that told a work of fiction, so it was to be taken seriously. There was something to be said of the irony that of all the people on Berk, it was the two most destructive children Berk has probably ever seen that found and rescue the thing._

_It had Vikings on one side, while their chief came together with four other figures on the other side; a man with tattoos and boomerang in hand, a colorful woman with a sword at each hip, a short guy, and a bearded man in red wielding a sword. Most peculiarly about the tapestry, a moon hung over the scene, even though it was clearly daytime in the picture._

_It turns out, the Guardians were said to be very active in each nation to help keep order and peace. On Berk they used to attend Mastery Exams for young benders, it was one of those ceremonial-tradition-type-things they apparently often did._

_One twin pushed the other and Hiccup knew where that would lead. Before they could round on each other, and burn down half the village in the process, Hiccup stepped in and tried once more._

'_Guys! Guys!' he said, breaking up the fight by redirecting a half-charge, half-punching motion made by each twin. A lick of flame brushed past him on both sides, but everyone was otherwise uninjured. This finally got their attention. _

_Hiccup may have been a small weakling who was easily over looked, but he still had quick reflexes. Not to mention, he grew up with these people, watched in a longing to be like them, understood the movements of their bending. Being on the receiving end of many a skirmish between the Berkian children only honed his abilities to fight fire with not-fire. _

'_Oh look, it's Hiccup the Useless.' Snotlout jeered. 'Finally realize you don't belong on an island of benders, Useless? Decide it's time to leave?'_

_Hiccup scowled but otherwise ignored Snotlout. _

'_Listen, I need your help.' Hiccup began._

_He tried to retell his story and explain that he needed their help rescuing the boy in the ice, however, they wouldn't listen either. Astrid and Fishlegs almost listened, but Astrid made much the same argument as Stoick, that the boy was definitely dead. And Fishlegs was simply too scared, especially after hearing about Hiccup's close encounter with the dragon. The twins had long since lapsed back into their perpetual arguing and Ruffnut chased after her brother with a dull ax she had found. Snotlout refused to _ever_ follow Hiccup. Fishlegs came up with a lame excuse of his mother calling him home for dinner (even though it was hardly afternoon). And Astrid…sigh, well she wanted to believe him, wanted to believe _in_ him, to help him; but she firmly believed it was too great a risk to even return to the lake. It wasn't worth someone else falling in and drowning, let alone getting attacked by another dragon. _

_It was hopeless. One by one they all left him, having bigger and better things to do than to help the runt of the tribe._

_Hiccup sighed but refused to be discouraged by this. Looks like he was in this alone._

Then the dream suddenly shifted forward to the next scene. What happened next, didn't actually happen at all really; the dream finally took on a much more dreamlike quality. Hiccup was once again disembodied as he looked onto the scene playing in his head. Somehow he felt like this was a precursor to an event that had yet to happen. Like it would happen. Soon. Ever so very soon.

_It was nighttime at the cove. The lake was still frozen over, just as it had every single day since Hiccup first found it. As it had been for three hundred years. The moon seemed larger than normal. Like it was much, much closer than ever to the earth. Hiccup watched ice slowly break up. The boy, Jack, lifted from the ice, he gasped as his eyes fluttered awake. The boy had hair whiter than snow and crystal blue eyes. _

At that time, Hiccup accepted this. The white hair and, really, the overall cosmic qualities of the boy were not out of place here. This is how it was to Hiccup. It was an inborn knowledge, much like how he didn't need to think about breathing, it just happened. The fact that in his previous dream (let alone in reality) the boy actually had brown hair, and that Hiccup had no idea what his eye color really was, was irrelevant. It is a dream. If it's real in the dream, it's real, no matter what.

_He hung in the air a moment looking at the moon, then was slowly lowered back down on to the ice that reformed and hardened underneath his feet. _

'Waterbender.' Hiccup noted for no intended reason.

_Jack examined his hands as if he didn't know who or what he was. Hiccup now made the connection that Jack was dressed like an Airbender. Huh. Jack looked back to the moon. Then he tried to take a step forward, only to need to balance himself so he didn't slip. He took another step, and looked down. He found something. Oh, a staff. He poked it with his toe; at his touch, frost climbed up it. _

'Yep. Definitely a Waterbender.'

_Jack picked up the staff and held it close to his face. An icy spark flew from it and he ducked away, dropping the end of the staff. It created huge feathered frost patterns that flared out from the wood. He looked upon the pattern, chuckled, then found himself a tree. He touched the crook of the staff to the bark, instantly making it frost over as well. He did the same to another tree and started bouncing with excitement. Next thing he knew, Jack was running around the lake, laughing and whooping with glee, slipping and sliding, creating patterns of frost all around him in his wake. _

'Waterbender with an affinity for ice. Okay.'

_Then suddenly Jack slipped backwards, which could have potentially been very, very bad if he hadn't tumbled STRAIGHT UP INTO THE AIR LIKE A FALLEN LEAF ON THE WIND._

'Wait—WHAT!?'

_Jack rose to a dizzying height, Hiccup's point of view going with him. Steadying himself briefly, Jack looked down on the patterns made on the lake, before falling rapidly out of the sky with a yell. His fall was broken by a number of trees just outside the cove. He clung to one for a second with an almost stupid expression on his face and chuckled to himself. Then something caught his attention. Eyes narrowing with focus, he pulled himself up on the tree and squatted there, looking onto whatever it was. Then Jack was off again. Jumping into the air and beginning what would clearly turn into a_ very_ rough ride on a gale of wind and—_

That was as far as the dream got.

There was a loud thud against the roof that caused a layer of dirt to shake loose from the rafters and some of the support beams to creak. There was a yell from some point far off, followed by a roar. There were the scrapings of claws against the roof and then a sound like a deployed parachute, followed by another, much closer roar.

Hiccup stirred from his sleep. The vaguest sense of a dream washed over him, however, what was just there was instantly wiped from his memory upon waking.

He heard a clunk and a "YARRRRGG!" and then a dragon's yelp. Oh great. It was going to be one of _those_ mornings.

It was foggy, and kind of cold, with moisture raining from swirling clouds in a thick mist. It might even start snowing soon, despite the oncoming summer months. Or it could be sunny and warm in an hour, you never really know on Berk. The ground was a bit springier underfoot than usual with the recent rainfall, but, it was only a matter of time until everything turned to mud. Whoo.

Hiccup dreaded the thought of his up and coming Mark of Mastery Exam. When he was a boy, he actually kind of liked being a part of the festivities. But not now. Not when it was his turn to be tested.

He couldn't bend, he couldn't fight, and he couldn't kill a dragon. It was hopeless. It was bad enough that the whole tribe would have to watch it, but Clan Dunbroch and the royal family of Corona would be there too—in replacement of The Guardians—to bear witness to the ceremony…and his failure. Can you say massive humiliation? If he were lucky, he might make it out as an exile with only slight burns and mauling. Oh yeah, wouldn't want to forget that lovely detail, would we? Those that failed the exam, as Hiccup seemed fated to do, were banished to live in exile. Yay.

Hiccup groaned, running a hand down the side of his face.

He sniffled for what had to be the hundredth time since he woke up. His nose was running from the cold and he was incapable of warming his body through breathing technique. He brought forth a rag from his back pocket, he quickly blew his nose. Why Fire Benders ever decided to settle so far Northwest was beyond Hiccup. He half suspected that they never did come from the Fire Nation; they were just simply too stubborn to freeze to death, so they learned to control fire instead. Nothing says defiant like a human mastering the improbable, and Vikings are hugely defiant by nature.

Thinking his nose good for the moment, he return the rag to it place. Now…where was he? Oh yes, despairing about his future.

Under different circumstances, it might not have been quite so bad, however, Hiccup was the son of two of Berks finest benders and leaders. His father, Stoick the Vast, was the Chief of the Hairy Hooligan Tribe, which made Hiccup the hope and heir of the Hooligan Tribe, which meant he was expected to be a great warrior who would lead the Hooligans to honor and glory, to be the absolute shining star of Berk…

And yet…

He was the embarrassment of the tribe, no more than a walking fish-bone.

Sure, there had been cases in the past of non-benders on Berk, and they made it out okay without being a complete and utter disgrace to the tribe, but they were much more…warrior-like.

Hiccup adjusted the basket-backpack on his shoulders, it was heavy from all the fish it carried. He got back to making his way down the slight path which lead to the cove.

The cove was his secret place. Nobody else had ever found it and Hiccup had never brought anyone there. It was where the pond that never melted hid; not even in the summer heat did it thin, keeping its boy prisoner captive. And now the cove was hiding the offspring of lightning and death itself as well. Oh, it just got better and better.

Hiccup had tried to break the ice a number of times in his life. Each time the ice always repaired itself. Eventually he allowed himself to believe that he'd have to be more creative than taking a torch or pick-ax to it if the ice was ever going to let up. He didn't exactly give up on it, but he let it sit for now. But still, it felt kind of morally right to stay by Jack's side, so he wasn't completely alone, even if he had no way of knowing Hiccup was there.

Hiccup estimated he was nearing the same age as Jack as when the boy fell in. He still had that mystic inward glow, so Hiccup knew he was still living, even after all these years. But Jack wasn't waking up, and he, Hiccup, was useless to free the boy. Maybe, the time just hadn't come yet.

Today, however, Hiccup was trying to fix the wrongs he had done. He was here for Toothless, the dragon he shot down over a week ago with one of his harebrained inventions. Gobber's words rang through his mind: _"A downed dragon, is a dead dragon." _Hiccup wanted to help Toothless fly again, and today was finally the day. Well he wasn't planning on un-grounding Toothless just yet, but he _was _going to see if the new tailfin he made fit.

He would have to conquer a dragon, yes, but this was not the way nor time for that. He had thought that if he had taken down just _one_ dragon, he might earn the respect the people of his village, and maybe even be taken seriously once in a while. So, maybe he was setting his sights a little high by going after a Night Fury, but it was clear shot at honor and glory and all the other not-so-humbling banter that came with proving your worth to your entire tribe and then some.

Hiccup had known the dragon for only a short time, but they were on good terms, all things considered. Toothless didn't always trust Hiccup, but he didn't want to take Hiccup's head off either. And though he sometimes gave Hiccup attitude, they had an understanding for the time being, which was good. Of course, after sharing the regurgitated, raw fish with Toothless, Hiccup was pretty sure he was off fish for _at least_ a month.

He didn't know if Toothless had intended for him to learn so much about dragons or a dragon's mentality, nor if Toothless intended for Hiccup to gain skills that turned out useful for defensive styled fighting; but he was sure the dragon was trying to observe and understand Hiccup just as much as Hiccup was trying to understand him.

He already learned so much from the dragon. Things he was already starting to be able to put to use in the Killing Ring; things like footing and movements. He didn't even quite notice he learned these things until one day he heard Gobber cheer "Now that's moving like a Firebending master!" Hiccup wouldn't have believed in a million lifetimes that Gobber was actually referring to him if it weren't for the fact that he was in the ring, alone at the time, "fighting" a Deadly Nadder. Gobber apparently was referring to his movements while dodging each of her strikes. All he simply did was moved like he did when he would play with Toothless. This was nearly half a week ago.

Hiccup reached the cove. He wove his way through the boulders and climbed down, ducking under the shield he'd accidentally wedged in between the boulders marking the cove's exit. His basket of fish momentarily got caught, but after some careful maneuvering he got through without being pulled completely to the ground.

"_**Hey Toothleeeess."**_ Hiccup called in the language of the dragons, something only Hiccup could do, and something he was rough at, but had been perfecting with Toothless. Well, trying to at least. Toothless didn't actually speak much to Hiccup yet. He mostly just growled, hissed, roared, or made a point to ignore Hiccup.

Hiccup was strangely very good at languages, and having studied dragons in most of his free time all his life, he had learned to communicate with them. He couldn't help it, he found dragons fascinating. Though he'd never speak in Dragonese in front of any other human being. It wasn't looked upon very well, and the last thing he needed was to be seen as a threat as well as a weirdo. It's a secret he's kept longer than Jack and the frozen lake. Seems he was getting good at keeping secrets lately.

He walked up to the dozing mass of scales. _**"I brought breakfast. 'Hope you're hungry bud."**_

Hiccup set down the basket, nearly going with it. He tipped it over with his foot and allowed the fish to spill out while he caught his breath.

"Aaah. That's disgusting." He said to himself. Meanwhile, Toothless perked up and cautiously walked over to the food, before burying his face into the pile.

"_**Got some salmon, some nice Icelandic cod, and a whole smoked eel."**_

Toothless hunched his shoulders and began growling at something in the pile. Hiccup quickly realized it was the eel and picked it up. Toothless hissed his distaste, teeth shown and eyes becoming slits.

"_**No! Nonononono! Okay. It's okay."**_He threw the eel away and wiped his hand on his vest. Toothless snorted. _**"Yeah, I don't really like eel much either."**_

Toothless promptly started digging into his meal and Hiccup snuck around him to buckle on the fin. After struggling with Toothless' squirming feeding movements he turned around and sat on Toothless' tail and made quick work of the leather straps. While still on Toothless' tail, he was oblivious to the sound of Toothless unfurling his wings and sat back to examine his work. He mumbled his thoughts and observations to himself. So far it was looking good.

There was a sudden tug and Hiccup shouted as he watched the ground pull away from himself. He clung to Toothless' tail so as not to be flung off. Flying! They were flying! Only one problem…the tail flap didn't open. And they had lost their balance. And were falling dead straight at the cliffs of the cove. Hiccup quickly pulled the flap open, and instantly Toothless caught the wind, and suddenly they were soaring.

"Oh my g—IT'S WORKING!" He shouted as Toothless silently and determinedly climbed the skies. It was sunny up there. Hiccup suddenly remembered where they were and how quickly they were rising. He turned the flap, directing them back towards the cove. Toothless flew over the frozen lake; all the while, Hiccup said to himself, "Yes! Yes! I did it!"

Without warning, Hiccup was thrown off of Toothless and sent down towards the lake. The lake swelled up to make a soft snowbank, catching Hiccup and giving him landing that at least wouldn't break his neck or crack his skull. The Lake did weird shit like that.

He heard Toothless roar as, he too, lost stability and fell towards the lake. The lake made a snowbank to catch him also. Hiccup popped out of the snow, whooping an excited "Yeah!" as he did.

Success.

Toothless gave the boy a rather perturbed look, but otherwise didn't burst Hiccup's bubble.

_He was running, running as fast as he could, running in a forest that was not of Berk or any place like it. He didn't know why he was running, or where, he just knew that he was. He was also acutely aware of running on four feet. Four very large, very powerful, black-as-night feet. Not that he felt like he was running. He'd hardly gone anywhere at all, and it was highly unnerving the amount of energy he had to exert just to push through a handful of steps. It was like having lead feet and trying to cross a bottomless void, all while knowing it was absolutely crucial that he DID NOT STOP._

_This was emphasized by the angry voices coming from somewhere behind him. _

_Even if he could in actuality, in this 'moment' he couldn't understand the voices behind him. In his mind it was just muffled yelling, but in his mind, he still knew what they were yelling and why they were yelling and that they were yelling at him. Wanting to _hurt _him. And all he could do was press on and hope he can just_—keep—far—enough—ahead.

_The forest broke away and became a clearing. And that's when things got really scary._

_Within the clearing was roughly a circle of standing stones. He could go through the stones, and he would get away. But he couldn't. It felt wrong. Like he was trespassing on a sacred place, like a grave. But the yelling was getting closer and he had no other option; going around would mean being captured. Plus, there was one thing he was beginning to distinguish about the yelling, two words that he definitely knew: 'kill' and 'demon'._

_That did it. He was moving again. Through the circle. He didn't care. He needed to get away. If he could just get the whole way through the Standing Stones, he'd be safe, he could just tell, he could feel it. The void feeling was gone, and his limbs were moving freely now. Oh, thank the gods and the stars and everything under the moon and—_

_He gasped and stopped dead in his tracks again. There was a girl. _

_Oh no._

_If they found her, they'd hurt her too. _

_He didn't know who she was, her hood hid her face, and she was partially cloaked by the shadows of the forest. The only clue he had was her hair. Which his mind couldn't quite seem to recognize. It could not tell if it was fiery curls, straight brown falls of hair, or blonde bangs that hung in the face. But then that observation was quickly lost to this realm. The yelling was really close now and his mind absently told his limbs to start running again. They were going to hurt him, and then they were going to hurt her. No! Run. Get away. Get—_

'_AWAAAY!' he tried to tell her. But despite (or maybe because) of his desperation, it came out not as a human noise, but an animal noise. He _roared_ at her. No. That's not what he wanted. He needed to try just one more time and tell her they were in danger. _

'_GET BACK! RUN AWAY!' He roared again. _

_There was a glint of something between him and the girl. Then suddenly he knew there was an impact, he had been hit by something. He looked down at himself for the first time throughout this whole nightmare. There, sticking out of his black, slicked fur was a—an arrow…it was an arrow…sticking out of him…embedded into him. He knew it hurt, he knew he was in pain, even if he couldn't feel it, couldn't smell the blood pouring out of him. He knew he had been hurt. He knew he was dying. He couldn't protect them. Couldn't protect…her._

_He tried to crawl on the ground, which was hard, one of his legs wasn't responding, like it had been cut off. The yelling was all around him now and there was a glow from torches surrounding him. _

When did it become night?

_The ones who were chasing him were just outside of the Standing Stones, well, all but a few were. Those who had actually entered the circle were clearly there to finish him off. He was struck again, in the shoulder this time. This time he screamed, though it was still yet another roar. It was a scream more of fear and will power than of pain. He didn't want to die, he didn't even know what he did to deserve death. Could he really be a demon?_

_Then there was thunder. It was so loud, it shook the ground. No, wait, that wasn't thunder. It was _coming_ from the earth. He spun around to see what was going on. He saw the silhouettes of the people around him. Many of them held swords, axes, anything capable of drawing blood. And there was one, a woman it looked like, who was unarmed. But that meant little in a world where man could control fire or water on a whim._

_She swung her arm in a pristine and ridged motion. Sharp rocks jutted out of the ground to, uh, discourage him from going anywhere. Then a large crack and a boom was heard. He looked up and one of the largest of the stones had a crack through it. The top part was shifting in its place. It loosened and fell forward a few inches. He wanted to get away, but the rocks were cutting into him, and the more he moved, the longer they got, until they had almost formed a cage. He heard one last great crack and shuttered. He saw the huge stone break away and fall._

Hiccup shot up in bed and gasped. His heart pounded with such a ferocity that he felt it greater than any time he had been running or gotten into a fight. The 'crunch' feeling wouldn't shake from him.

He couldn't help but examine every aspect of his darkened room, his brain needing to register where he was and what he was and what was going on. He looked at his very human hands and then back to the room again as he evaluated things and remembered the dream.

'A dream.' He told himself privately. 'Nothing to worry about.'

But he couldn't sake of that-that feeling. The feeling of being crushed. Worse, he hated the sensation of 'failure' that was tearing him up inside because of the dream.

The next day was an interesting one. Despite his progress, Hiccup was still currently less than satisfactory, but what happened that day impelled the winds of change to blow.

They were given an exercise where they were each handed a bucket of water and then paired into groups. Then without much instruction, Gobber let loose a Hideous Zippleback and let them fend for themselves while giving them bouts of lessons from somewhere above. The objective was simple: navigate the fog of Zippleback gas and put out its spark before it has a chance to strike.

It was a test in and of itself really. It was about stealth, teamwork, and tactic, which was obvious to most of the students. However, there was another, underlying test here. Control. The students wouldn't be able to use their bending while in the green mist. Even the smallest flame would ignite the gas. If they did not control themselves would not only endanger their own lives, but the lives of everyone else. Not exactly promising when the only person who showed any sign of control or mastery was Astrid, who in her one respects, was still a hot-head at times.

Most of the groups had been picked off by now. Snotlout and Tuffnut had already mistakenly used their water on Astrid and Ruffnut, which spurred some sort of argument which caused someone to throw their bucket at someone else, which attracted the attention of the Zippleback. A fun-fact about dragons: they like to play with their prey before they kill it.

Hiccup had heard the arguing, and even Tuffnut yelling 'I'm hurt! I am very much hurt!' but he couldn't see anything of what was transpiring. He could barely focus as it was, with all the frantic mumbling Fishlegs was doing. All he knew was they were the last two left.

Then the dragon finally showed itself. Fishlegs screeched and threw his water onto the first head he saw.

"Oh, heh-heh, wrong head." Fishlegs whimpered. The head showering Fishlegs with a fast and heavy cloud of gas. Fishlegs squealed and ran faster than anyone had ever seen him run.

Now Hiccup was the only one left. He was vaguely aware of Gobber yelling something before trying to douse the right head this time. The only problem was that the head had lifted itself quite high into the air, and something about the heave Hiccup made, made the water drop far before it even came close to the head.

The Zippleback was ready to strike now, Hiccup let his arms drop and his shoulders sag. "Oh, come on." He said. The head began to spark, working to make one large enough to catch on the explosive gas.

There was a moment of panic from the sidelines, as everyone knew they were about to watch as the one person who couldn't defend himself from fire was blown into the next life. Gobber was most worried; he really did not want to tell his best friend and chief that his son was killed in a rather painful and gruesome way.

Then, something amazing happened. Hiccup, with his palms open and empty of any weapon, had somehow cause the monster to rear up and back away. What they couldn't see was that Hiccup had an eel hidden under his vest. It wasn't exactly something that was allowed…but it wasn't exactly against the rules either. The Zippleback had smelled the eel the moment it tried to blast Hiccup, and he was instantly saved.

Armed with the knowledge of Toothless' reaction to eels, Hiccup had gone to the dock early that morning when not many people had made it down there yet. He paid a man for an eel from his catch. The man happily obliged as he had caught the thing by accident, and with not many people on the island being fans of the chewy, oily texture, he knew it'd be difficult to sell. The man was so grateful, he had no problem with doing what the boy asked, which was keep his lips sealed that he had even been there. In fact the man had just about forgotten all about it by midday. Mostly because he didn't exactly understand why the boy wanted to keep it secret, but figured maybe the boy feared being teased for having odd tastes, and the fisherman understood as much.

Hiccup couldn't have been more relieved that he had had the foresight to do this. He directed the dragon back to its enclosure and even threw the eel in to make sure the Zippleback wouldn't try to attack while he closed the stone doors.

He wiped his hands on his vest and turned to see the shocked faces of his peers and teacher.

"Okay, so are we done? Uh, 'cause I've got some things that I need to, yep." He said before running off as quickly as he could so as not to be stopped to answer any questions. "S-see you tomorrow." He stuttered as he fled.

The days that followed fell into a cycle of combat training in the mornings and spending time with Toothless the rest of the time. And since his father wasn't home at the moment, he could stay with Toothless as late as he wanted, which was usually pretty late.

Tonight was one of those nights.

It was the first day with the completed saddle and Toothless had made it a game to actually get it on him. It took most of the day, so they didn't get much flying in, but considering how many times they crash landed, that might have been a good thing. He would need something to help buckle him down so he wouldn't be flung off of Toothless while they were in the air.

So there they were, laying under the stars as Hiccup planned out the next things he would need to make for this plan to come together. Toothless seemed to be getting comfortable with Hiccup's presence. Amazingly, Toothless allowed Hiccup to lay against his side while they stargazed. Which was nice, Toothless was warm, and the nights were still a bit cold. He felt a tranquility with the dragon, like they were becoming one.

And lately he had been thinking that this could be the answer, and they wouldn't have to be at war with the dragons anymore. He understood that most of his tribesmen just wanted them to go away, but Hiccup felt that dragons were wonderful, magnificent, unique creatures that you couldn't find anywhere else, now more than ever. He couldn't imagine a world without dragons. He dreamed of a day when they could live in peace with the dragons, and you didn't need to hide the ability to speak Dragonese.

He looked at the moon, a full moon, the second one this month, and suddenly a thought came to his mind.

"_**Hey bud, you still awake? There's something else I need to tell you about."**_

Toothless grunted lazy, Hiccup figured that was a_ 'go ahead.'_

"_**There's this ceremony coming up, and a lot of people will be coming to the island so I don't know if I'll be able to slip away as often when the other nations arrive."**_

"_**So long as Hiccup brings lots of fish, Toothless won't mind much…What's the ceremony?"**_

"_**It's sort of like a test. All the kids about my age are tested to see if they're ready to become Firebending Masters."**_

"_**Toothless didn't know Hiccup could make fire."**_

"_**Well that's the problem, I can't do that."**_

"_**So Hiccup shouldn't take test. Simple." **_Toothless purred like he had solved it.

"_**Sorry, bud, but I don't get that choice."**_

"_**Then leave and go somewhere Hiccup**_** can**_** choose."**_

Yes, running away seemed like the best way out of it, but…

"_**I can't. I can't leave everything behind."**_

"_**Whatever you say. Vikingr not like dragons; dragons don't bind themselves so loyally."**_

They lapsed into silence for a moment.

"_**There's a saying:"**_ He told Toothless. _**"'You rise with the moon, I rise with the sun.' Supposedly it was said by a Fire Nation prince after he dueled a Waterbending Master at dawn. He was losing the battle because Waterbenders have a connection to the tides and moon, he only won because the sun rose. But I feel no change whether the sun is up or down."**_ Sigh. _**"That's why…I know I'll never be able to bend. But it's okay really, I don't mind. It's just that around here, bending is everything. It'd make things a lot easier if I was like everyone else." **_

"_**If you were like everyone else, Toothless would have killed you long time ago."**_ Well that was a good point._** "Why is Hiccup telling Toothless all this?" **_the dragon asked, though not in an annoyed way, but simply in one that was innocently wondering what he was getting at.

"_**I don't know." **_Hiccup answered honestly. _**"I just have this feeling. Like something big is going to happen soon."**_

"_**Okay. And if Hiccup needs to make fire, then Toothless will be there to make fire."**_

Hiccup smiled at that, and scratched Toothless in a way he knew the dragon liked. They dozed in silence for a bit longer before Hiccup felt his eyelids dropping and decided it'd be best to go home. He hadn't brought a candle or anything, and needed light to write down the rest of his thoughts on the saddle, before catching a few hours of sleep for the next day of trying.

He got up and grabbed the bag which had carried his evening meal. He made to leave when he was distracted by a faint sound. He saw Toothless' ears ripple. Noticed a tenseness that showed the dragon was preparing to stand and face whatever it was.

Dragon and boy looked at each other. '_He heard it too._' They, unknowingly, thought in unison.

Toothless looked around concerned, knowing Hiccup had long since stopped bringing any of those metal straight-claws Vikingr carried with them. His ears perked once again. The noise…it was steadily getting louder, and more distinct too. It wasn't a dragon noise, nor a Vikingr noise.

He saw his boy hunch and drop his knees, something he only did when faced with a threat.


	2. Something Unexpected

It shot out of the forest before dragon or boy had time to register _what_ it was. It was a flicker of shadow on the moonlight, before it shot down into the cove and was lost in the web of shadows amongst the rocks and cliffs. Whatever it was, it was not a dragon, but it was as large as one, and it could fly. Feathers with a wetness to them like that of a dead creature fell through the windless night. Toothless made sure to place himself a bit closer to Hiccup, Hiccup began to search his surroundings for a stick or something to fight with. There was no guarantee if it was hostile or not, but judging by the advent of things, it was better to ride on the side of caution.

A rock off one the walls of the cove exploded. Debris and dust fell to the lush ground. There was a flash of quick movement, and before they knew it, they were under attack. There was a loud whistle in Hiccup's ears and a purple flare cracked passed him, lighting up the creature as it dodged Toothless' attack. Another shot hit it dead straight in the chest. There was an explosion and a vail of smoke hung where the thing had been, leaving Hiccup without a good look of the thing.

The cove darkened. The cloud of smoke held still on the other side of the cove. Once again the only thing lighting the cavity in the forest was the large, luminescent moon. It seemed to brighten as if to offer its protection over the boy, which was comforting, because everything in the forest had gone deathly quiet. Hiccup shuttered a breath and looked at Toothless, who in turn looked at him. Both dragon and boy shared a twin look of _'Is it over?'_ Then everything happened all too quickly again.

There was an ear-piercing howl, so loud and at such a pitch, that Hiccup's hands shot up to the sides of his skull. Something struck and he felt the air leave his chest as he was thrown far from Toothless, soon feeling the friction of the ground burn against his back as he slid even further.

Stars danced in his vision, he heard Toothless make a dragon scream of furry, not unlike the one when he pinned Hiccup after being cut free from the boy's own trap. If he had had all of his senses together, Hiccup might have deduced that Toothless and the thing that had thrown him were battling it out. The stars began to fade and returned Hiccup's sight. But from where he landed he still couldn't discern what was going on between Toothless and the monster.

He clenched his jaw as he elbowed himself off the ground, not being able to stop his eyes from clamping shut as he bit back the pain of his pulse hammering through his head. Toothless made two more furious screams.

Then something _jumped_ on Hiccup. It pinned him in place and screeched a furious otherworldly roar at him.

Hiccup looked up with horror stricken eyes. He had no idea what the Hel this thing was. It seemed kind of humanoid in body, but had an extra set of arms and a wolf-ish head. Ram horns that spiked at the ribs grew from the beast's brow and Hiccup was aware of at least two wolf-ish tails coming off the thing. The saber teeth hanging over Hiccup's face sent a jump to his pulse, and the fact that Hiccup could slightly see the stars and the moon straight through the crimson beast wasn't very comforting either.

Then Hiccup recognized something he'd seen in dragons when they prepare to strike. Hiccup's eyes shut themselves tight and he crossed his arms above himself to offer some form of protection, waiting for the strike.

When the weight of the beast seemed thrown off him, it was enough to get him to open his eyes. He saw two stone pillars that almost crossed over him. It looked like they must have pushed the monster off of him, which only seemed to make it angrier. "Look out!" a voice yelled, one he didn't recognize.

Hiccup looked on with horror as he saw a pair of _huge_ hawk wings, which looked to be losing feathers, allow the creature to keep flight over himself. Hiccup _really_ wanted to know where Toothless was, but knew better than to take his eyes of the thing that had every intention of killing him.

He looked up into the snarling face, and knew the creature was going to dive again. Then without warning, a snowball hit the monster square in the face. The beast and Hiccup were equally stunned. There was a lull in the attack. The monster even had to land on a nearby rock to figure out what had just happened.

There was impish laughter on the night and then the voice said "What's the matter? Am I interrupting something? _Afraid I'll bite?_" followed by another snicker as if the voice had said something terribly clever.

The beast suddenly looked somewhere above and behind Hiccup. It growled.

"Heh-heh, chill out spirit-breath, it was only a joke."

Hiccup took this moment as an opportunity to look for Toothless, who he found tied down by some sort of…shadows…? It was very hard to tell against the black scales. He ran over to his dragon, looking to free him. He'd grab at the bindings, but his hands only seemed to phase through them. It was like trying to catch a cloud. Regardless it still had an effect on Toothless, and Hiccup was determined to set him free.

There was a roar, bringing Hiccup back to the current situation. The thing that had attacked them leapt into the air again, only to be pelted by another two snowballs. The creature was once again stunned, and glided back down to the cove floor, rubbing the slush from its face in much the same fashion as a cat.

Someone landed between Hiccup and the beast; a bare-footed boy with a staff. The boy put up one hand like he was trying to calm a child, "There, see, it's ok, I'm here now. I'll help you." He was saying.

The boy was semi-transparent like the beast had been. But, whereas the beast seemed to be some sort of shadow creature, the boy seemed to have just the slightest luminesce, one that reminded Hiccup of the moon's light bouncing off untouched snow.

The wolf head snapped and nearly separated the boy's hand from his arm. He yelped and jumped back, jerking his staff to the left bending the air to slow the monster's charge down. Then he twirled the staff and jerked it to the right, sending the monster flying over the lake. The boy ran out onto the lake with the staff dragging behind him. He swung the staff up and the ice grew and trapped the beast by its limbs, like gauntlets.

Something about this scene gave Hiccup a moment of serious déjà vu. His eyes widened with unexpected realization. Suddenly he was frozen in awe and could do nothing but watch with continued amazement.

The wolfish monster continued to struggle to jerk out of the ice, but the ice only grew to encapsulate its limbs completely. There were more furious screams, but the white haired boy only continued to slowly step forward. He made a circular motion with his free hand, forming a single snowflake, which twirled its way on the currents of the wind. It landed on the creature's nose. There was an abrupt change in behavior, as if put under a spell to calm its anger and fear.

"See? Better? Now, let's see if we can't fix you up." The boy soothed. And surprisingly, the wolfish creature whined and leaned its head into the boy, showing that _yes yes yes, good boy, help help help._

The boy chuckled something kindhearted and full of light. He rubbed between the ram horns and behind the ears, like with a normal dog. "Ok, ok. Here."

The boy set down his staff and put one palm to the wolf-ish chest and one to the forehead and…

Hiccup didn't know what happened next. Only that there was a blinding white light from the direction of the lake, and he could only bare to shut his eyes tight and face another direction. He felt a warmness in his center, and a tugging sensation that pulled in the direction of the wolf-ish creature. It was like nothing he had ever experienced before, and Hiccup found himself becoming hyperaware of his very being.

Then the sensation faded, and the light dimmed. It was done…whatever it was. Hiccup looked back to the boy and the transformed creature.

The appearance of a monster had vanished; the horns were no longer spiked, and though the saber teeth remained, they had receded and were something much less terrifying. The creature itself also became a transparent indigo color. Two wolfish tails wagged for the snowy haired boy. The hawk wings, now healthy and restored, unfolded themselves as the animal prepared to leave.

Toothless grunted and shifted slightly. Hiccup looked and realized the shadows tying the dragon down were corroding and falling away, as if made of ash. Toothless shook (much like a dog would) and freed himself of the remaining shadows. He looked at Hiccup and Hiccup looked at the boy. Gods, there were about a million and two unanswered questions racing threw Hiccup right now.

The boy now stood alone on the lake, a pretty amazing accomplishment considering his bare feet. He looked towards the sky with a mixture of glee and relief.

Hiccup took a deep and much needed breath, then he dared guess who it was before him, in an attempt to understand just what was going on.

"J-Jack?" He said hesitantly. Without warning, the white haired boy sputtered, almost losing his balance.

He spun around in horror and disbelief and joy and confusion and any other collision of emotions that could be possible. Could it be possible?

"You! You're the kid who hangs out here." Jack said when he saw Hiccup. "…How did you know my name?"

"I—I don't know. How…how did you get out of the ice?"

Jack's smile dropped. "I…never did…" he said dimly.

There was the briefest of pauses between the two. Hiccup was still with his growing confusion visible on his face. Jack scratched his neck nervously.

"How do I put this…"Jack groaned. "My body is trapped, but my spirit is free…But I'm not dead! I swear!" he added quickly and put out free hand, as if his confession might give Hiccup the wrong idea and scare the kid off.

"Is that why you're…?" Hiccup trailed off.

"Why I'm what?" Jack asked.

"See-through."

Jack looked down at himself. "I'm see-through?"

"Yeah…to me, at least." Hiccup said giving the teen another up-down. He didn't quite have words to describe it. It was sort of like seeing you're reflection in a particularly shiny bit of metal, or in the eyes of another; like seeing your breath on a cold day, or looking at something through a thick fog. There, but not.

But he was there. Hiccup could see that. He saw that even in the pale night, the moon still cast a shadow on the teen. He was there. Hiccup wasn't dreaming him up or going crazy. Well, no crazier than befriending and curling up next to a Nightfury.

"Huh." Jack said examining his hand in the moonlight. "Maybe, it's because I'm stuck somewhere between this world and the Spirit World."

"Wha—? H-How—?" Hiccup yammered, but for a moment, it was as if Jack forgot Hiccup was there.

"Seishin's kinda lucky to be a full time spirit." Jack mumbled.

Hiccup's fighting stopped for a moment. _"A spirit?" _His mind screamed,_ "That's what that thing was?" _He gulped, not exactly liking the idea of death if that's what he had to look forward to in the Spirit World. This only brought more questions to Hiccup's head.

"Oh, that's right. That's something someone like you probably wouldn't know." Jack said, as if he could tell what Hiccup was thinking. "That was Seishin. He was corrupted and turned…evil. Actually, a lot of them have been lately…Those spirits, including Seishin, have been hunting children and teenagers. They've…grown a taste for the life energy of the young."

"Yikes."

"Yeah. So uh, watch your back I guess."

"Uh, thanks. So, uh…then, you…helped it? Right?"

"Yep. Picked that up from a lion turtle." Jack smirked, but it didn't quite reach the confident bravado he seemed to try to pull off. The atmosphere just told that he realized he was fighting a losing battle. With a bit more seriousness, Jack said, "I've been trying to help them, since it's about the only thing I can really do at the moment."

"Then you know what's causing the spirits to…'get sick'. Is there any way to stop it?"

Jack grimaced. "Not exactly, and believe me, I've tried. I've tried for a long time to find answers. But I'm all by myself, got no one I can ask, and I don't know what's causing it. And I only have a vague understanding of what happens when it does. But, like, it's like it's going on underground or in the darkest shadows on the darkest nights. I've even gotten pretty close to something a few times now. But it's like who or whatever is causing this knows when I'm getting close. Everything goes black and I don't wake up until the next full moon…" Jack sighed.

Hiccup watched as Jack chewed his lip. It was obvious that he had more to say and was thinking on how to say it. So Hiccup gave the teen time to think, since he didn't exactly have any kind of input for him. He didn't know hardly anything about Spirits or the Spirit World, that was more Gothi's department, and even she couldn't know much on what Jack was describing.

"I've tried to get back in my body, but this lake isn't normal, so it's a no go for the Mortal World. And…I've tried to get to the Spirit World, because I'm pretty sure it's, like, separate from ours, but no matter what I try I can't get in. It's like there's a barrier or something. I only know that I can't stop the spread of this…whatever it is…as I am." Another sigh, like he had gotten years of frustration off his chest. Jack ran his fingers through his hair. "I…I think that's why I'm like this…stuck, in-between worlds."

"Someone wanted you out of the way…" Hiccup said.

Jack nodded. "Whatever I'm supposed to do, it's kinda out of my reach if you catch my drift."

Hiccup nodded. He got the hint. "So, then, any idea how to get out of the ice?"

"Not really. I could never get anyone to help me, I'm invisible. You're the first person who's ever been able to see me. And I've tried Waterbending my way out, but I can barely get it to thin. Heh, half the time I just make the ice thicker. I think bending's the key, but it'll take more than one bender." Jack spoke looking Hiccup in the eye with an added spark.

Then something about what Jack said made Hiccup's brain tick. There was a moment where Hiccup was lost in thought, and if Jack or Toothless had said anything, he missed it.

"So Jack," Hiccup started as nonchalantly as he could, "when…Seishin attacked you, you used your Airbending to push him back, right?"

"Yep." Smile and confidence in full swing again.

"But you already said you can Waterbend, right?"

"Double yep." Jack said with a look of confusion, not seeing where Hiccup was going with this. He almost felt scared from picking up on Hiccup's tone of voice implying that it was weird to be able to bend more than one element. Was there something wrong with that?

Hiccup on the other hand felt like had been punched in the gut. By Astrid. His heart skipped a beat and eyes widened as he had to remember how to breathe properly.

Even he hadn't thought it possible for someone like this to exist. He had grown out of the belief in the Avatar at some point during his childhood. He didn't know what to say. He didn't realize his jaw dropped, leaving his mouth slightly parted as he stood in amazed silence. A crooked smile quirked itself onto his face.

Jack made an unsure grin himself. Even made a small chuckle. He didn't get what was going on but assumed it was good and hoped Hiccup knew how to help him.

"This is—! This is amazing! Do you realize what this means? How awesome this is!?" Hiccup all but yelled in excitement, flailing his arms as was his usual quirk.

Jack, however, simply scrunched his brow and pressed his mouth into a thin line. Now it was his turn to be at a loss for words. He _didn't_ know what this meant. Or _why_ Hiccup was suddenly so hyped up. Did Hiccup know something about who he was? Or maybe Hiccup had never met another bender before and that's why he was excited? He did seem to spend a lot of time alone. But whatever it was, Hiccup just continued rattling off 'This is amazing's and 'I can't believe it's, pacing in circles and forgetting Jack who clenched his staff close with two hands.

"Wait until I tell the others." Hiccup finally slowed for a breath.

"T-Tell…the others?" Jack asked in genuine confusion. "Tell them what exactly?"

"That you're the Avatar. That you really exist."

Jack's face was blank.

"What?" Hiccup's joy turned to concern.

"What's…the Avatar?" Jack asked.

The word sounded familiar, he vaguely remembered different kids from all over whispering different stories about that word with different characters and different endings. But as time grew on the stories got scarcer and scarcer, and he never even got to know what the word _meant._

"You…really don't know?"

Jack shook his head.

Hiccup dropped his arms. Oh, boy. This was going to be a long night.

He led Jack over to a spot where the both could sit. Toothless rubbed up against Hiccups hand and leg. Hiccup rubbed behind Toothless' ears as the dragon dozed and the boys talked; Hiccup telling Jack about the Avatar and Jack telling Hiccup everything he knew about himself.

After an hour or two had passed, Hiccup had learned that Jack had no memories from before he fell into the ice, let alone how or why. All Jack seemed to know for sure was his name was Jack Frost, that it was the moon that rose his spirit, and nobody (except Hiccup currently) could see, hear, or touch Jack. Also the moon was every score of profanities Jack could think of and more, for He hasn't spoken or given Jack a lick of guidance since, which he reluctantly admitted had been 300 years. Everything since the first night he woke up he had had to learn on his own, by observation or by the lips of the people he tried to be seen by.

Jack explained that from what other spirits told him, NOBODY can bend in the spirit world, and by all rights he shouldn't be able to either. But he thinks it was the moon that did it, that He allowed him to bend, though for what purpose, he didn't know. But he did believe that it was only another clue that Jack was neither fully in either world. And he also explained that he had only started coming across the darkened spirits a few years ago, and so despite not knowing how it happened or how long it had been going on, it did give him something to do and feel important about.

Before long the boys lapsed into regular, friendly conversation, which wasn't always directed towards Jack's current predicament. They forgot all but whatever subject they would fall into. They talked about Berk, the village, and the cove. Jack told stories of places he had been to, and Hiccup told a couple Viking legends. They compared their experiences with flying, with Jack giving Hiccup a few pointers. Debated the existence of trolls and something Jack called 'Pookas'. And when no more could be said about one subject, they moved on to the next one.

The night neared its darkest hour and Hiccup's awareness of his wiry state grew. His eyes burned for sleep, but that didn't seem to occur to Jack, who, if he even needed sleep as a spirit, was clearly fully awake. Jack was alive with the night and his first official mortal friend. He chattered on and slung his staff over one shoulder.

"If you think that's flaming; you know the other day? When you and your dragon fell? And a snowbank shot up and caught you?"

"Wait—That was you?"

"That was me!"

"Cool" Hiccup breathed. "…But then why I didn't see you that time?"

"Most people can't see spirits, let alone me. It's okay, I'm used to it." Jack lied and shrugged it off as if it was nothing. His face lit up, and in his excitement jumped to his feet and ran a hand through frosted hair, talking more to himself than to Hiccup.

"Ah, but this is great though! Finally! Someone who can see me! And it's even better now. 'Cause there's two of us!" He turned and looked directly to Hiccup now. "If we both use our bending, I bet we can break the ice and I'll be free!"

"Uh, wait…_our_ bending?" Hiccup asked.

"Yes! Our bending!" Snow white teeth gleamed a signature smile.

Hiccup's shoulders and, well, really the majority of his body, dropped rather abruptly. Jack's eyebrows scrunched as he read Hiccup's body language.

"…What?" He questioned.

"Hate to burst your bubble, Jack. I think you got the wrong guy. I can't bend."

"What?" Disbelief rang in Jack's tone.

"I can't bend. I'm not a bender." Hiccup repeated with an apathetic wave of his arms.

Jack looked at the stone pillars that had sprung up to save Hiccup's life. "But I just saw you…" Jack trailed off realizing Hiccup's busy mind was completely detracted as he went on muttering to himself.

"But…then who did that then?" Jack asked softly eyes narrowing in the direction of the pillars.

Not a bender? He didn't get it. Didn't Hiccup realize Jack couldn't bend the other two elements, earth and fire? He couldn't even Waterbend properly, he was really only proficient in ice and snow. If he didn't Earthbend, and Hiccup claims not to be _able_ to bend…then how did the pillars shoot up, one after the other, right when Hiccup threw up arms to protect himself? Jack _saw_ it. He watched it happen. Plus, Jack's been to this cove a number of times. He knew those pillars weren't there to begin with.

This didn't matter. Despite Jack's not so internal confusion, Hiccup was oblivious.

"Maybe there's another way." Hiccup perked up. "Maybe I could convince some of the other kids to come here and use their bending to free you? Or…or maybe Toothless and I could—"

"Hiccup." Jack said with seriousness Hiccup didn't know he could possess. He grabbed Hiccup by both shoulders, resisting every urge to shake him, and sighed, "Just humor me for a bit, okay? Please? Just-just try it. Try bending with me and let's see where that gets us."

Hiccup hesitated, but eventually sighed and nodded his head. It couldn't hurt…could it?


End file.
